Bob Menendez, a prominent senator, faces bribery charges
When FBI agents searched the home of Bob Menendez, New Jersey’s senior senator, in June last year, they found $100,000 in gold bars and $480,000 in hidden cash. Some of the money, stuffed in envelopes, was hidden in clothes, including jackets with Mr Menendez’s name stitched into them that were hanging in his wardrobe.
The details of the search are laid out in an astonishing indictment unsealed on September 22nd. Mr Menendez, who has resigned as the chairman of the Senate foreign relations committee, and his wife, Nadine, are accused of a multitude of misdeeds, not least of which is sharing sensitive information with Egyptian officials. They also allegedly accepted gifts of the gold bars in exchange for protecting associates.
The three-count indictment also asserts that Mr and Mrs Menendez accepted hundreds of thousands of dollars in bribes from three New Jersey businessmen, who were also charged. The bribes the couple are accused of taking include home mortgage payments, compensation for a “low or no-show job”, home furnishings and a Mercedes-Benz. Mr Menendez denies any wrongdoing. He said the prosecutors are making “false claims” against him and his wife. He asserts that the federal prosecutors have “misrepresented the normal work of a congressional office”.
2023-09-22 17:08:53
Original from www.economist.com
